Written by Gary Griffin
Harding University cross country head coach Steve Guymon received the GSC men’s cross country coach of the year award on Tuesday, Nov. 9. Coach Guymon has been coaching at Harding for nine years, and eight of those years he has received this award.”I have been extremely blessed in the nine years I have been here with a great group of young athletes,” Guymon said.Guymon’s team earned its third straight conference title, and 10th in the last 11 seasons. Harding enters the NCAA postseason ranked No. 1 in the Division II South Region and No. 10 in the nation.”I am honored to receive this award, but I am also humbled in knowing that it is my team that push themselves each and every race and it is them that make me look good. I get a bigger reward when I see the kids after a performance and the excitement they get from their accomplishments,” Guymon said. Besides winning numerous races as a team, there are many individual runners who have been acknowledged and given awards for their accomplishments. Junior runner Daniel Kirwa, junior Philip Biwott, senior Wojciech Kopec and sophomore Naomi Landecker are just a few runners who have received awards this season. Guymon said he has continued to build on the strong tradition of Harding cross-country and track, directing the Bison cross-country team to six of the last seven GSC championships and NCAA II South Region championships. Harding won both titles in 2008. Under Guymon, Harding’s men have placed in the national top 10 five times, including a third-place finish in 2003 and a sixth-place finish last season. The Lady Bisons have five GSC championships in Guymon’s seven years, two NCAA South Region titles and four top-10 national finishes. Guymon’s cross-country athletes have earned 26 All-America honors since he has been a coach at Harding.”When you have leaders and runners like Daniel Kirwa and Philip Biwott, it makes my job seem so easy. I am so proud of every one of my runners this season,” Guymon said. Guymon and his teams have NCAA South Region Championships in Huntsville, Ala., this Saturday and the top two teams from that race will move on to the NCAA National Championships on Dec. 4 in Louisville, Ky.
